At Australian Refugee Camp, a Mix of Hope and Doubts Over U.S. Plans<br />12, 2017<br />SYDNEY, Australia — More than 60 asylum seekers in Australia’s offshore detention program on Manus Island have been called for additional meetings<br />with the American authorities to discuss potential resettlement in the United States, according to several refugees involved in the process.<br />"There’s no time to waste — these refugees have acute mental health problems made worse by years of uncertainty and insecurity on Manus and Nauru." A copy of the notification provided to Mr. Mohamed and other refugees says<br />that they will travel to Port Moresby, the capital of Papua New Guinea, a short flight from Manus, on Wednesday for meetings "with respect to the US Resettlement process." It does not say whether anyone will be accepted or when decisions will be made.<br />Human rights advocates said they believed the travel ban on citizens of certain countries did not apply to existing arrangements — like one the Obama administration made in late 2016 to take some refugees from Manus<br />and a second offshore detention camp in Nauru — and they called for greater transparency in the process.<br />Elaine Pearson said that If the U.S. isn’t going to accept people from certain countries, they should make<br />that crystal clear now so Australia can make alternative arrangements,<br />" she said, "but we don’t know any more about the process other than what the men are telling us." "What we do know is that, for those<br />refugees who have been resettled in the U.S., it’s been life-changing," she added. that We’ve tried to get information at times,<br />American officials have said repeatedly that they expect more refugees on Manus and Nauru to be resettled in the United States in the coming months,<br />but they did not respond to questions on Tuesday seeking additional details.
